Undergarment



June 15, 1943. P. sNYDER UNDERGARMENT med March 11, 1942 MMA/f,

INVENToR. P/ 67V y 0F19 )vH/Vins Patented June 15, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICI:

UNDERGARMENT Paul Snyder, Baltimore, Md.

Application March 11, 1942, Serial No. 434,293

3 Claims.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in undergarments, and more particularly to undergarments adapted to be worn by men, women or children, the subject matter of the application being an improvement on my Patent No. 2,313,595, issued March 9, 1943.

One object of the invention is to provide a garment having front and rear sections, the side edges of which, or the major portions thereof, define leg openings for the garment.

Another object of the invention resides in the formation of a garment knitted or otherwise made of a material having elasticity in one direction to afford a close fit to the body, and permit movement of parts of the body without binding.

Still another object of the invention resides in the application of a binding edge for the leg openings, formed of a material similar to the material of which the body of the garment is made, but which has its elasticity in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of the elasticity of said body.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of an improved opening for the garment to permit of adjustability of the waist band thereof.

A still further objectresides in the provision of a garment which is simple and durable in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and one which will prove comfortable and well fitting on the body of the wearer.

With these and numerous other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter referred to and more specically pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application.

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a garment ccnstructed in accordance with my invention, with parts broken away to betterillustrate the crotch portion thereof;

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the garment showing the waist band locking features and the relationship of the front and rear sections of the garmentwhen the waist band is adjusted to a certain position;

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the securing elements of the waist band disconnected, and particularly showing the relationship of the sections of the garment to one another` under lsuch circumstances;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view, in fragment and partly in section, as taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, showing in particular the relationship and structure of the binding edge to the front section of the garment above the leg opening;

Fig. 6 is a similar view, as seen on the line 5 6 of Fig. 4, showing the construction of the binding edge applied to the edge of the rear section of the garment above the leg opening;

Fig. 7 is a similar view as seen on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3, showing in particular the structure and relationship of the binding with respect to the front section of the garment at the leg opening;

Fig. 8 is a similar view, as seen on the line 8 8 of Fig. 3, showing particularly the structure and relationship of the binding with respect to the rear section of the garment at the leg opening;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view, as seen on the line 9 9 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. l0 is a perspective View of a slightly modified form of the invention.

In describing my invention, I shall refer to the drawing, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which numeral I designates the front section of my improved garment, and the numeral 2 the rear section thereof, said sections, for a portion of their length downwardly from the upper edges thereof, having substantially straight side edges, and the remaining side edges thereof tapering downwardly toward the lower edges. The upper edges of said front and rear sections I and 2 are stitched or otherwise secured to an open-ended Waist band 3, which may be of any desired material. If available, an elastic material may be used, but at the present time, due to conditions, rubber is not available and it is assumed that said waist band may be made of a material which contains no rubber, although it may be of a material which has some elasticity. The question of elasticity in the waist band is of no particular importance for the reason that my improved waist band, as shown in the drawing, is provided at the ends thereof with separable fasteners 4, there being sufncient number thereof to permit of a number of adjustments according to the size of the waist dimensions of the wearer.

While not an absolute necessity, I prefer that the fasteners 4 be of the conventional snapfastener type. However, if in the present emergency, such fasteners are not found to be available, any other type of fastener may be utilized, vso long as there are means provided for'adjustment to various sizes, and if necessary, buttons and button holes may be utilized.

I have shown the lower edges of the front and rear sections I and 2 connected by stitching to a crotch insert 5, although it is not an absolute necessity for the effective use of my invention that such an insert be provided. I nd, however, that the garment is more eii'icient in use when such an insert is utilized. The front and rear sections are preferably knitted so that the wales extending vertically provide a lateral stretch to the garment. The insert 5, formed of the same material as the sections I and 2, has the wales running transversely so that the stretch thereof is substantially longitudinal of the garment, that is, a-t right angles to the stretch of the front and rear sections. The material is so knitted that it will not stretch in the direction opposite to that heretofore mentioned.

The front section I is preferably doubled, that is, formed of two plies of material, designated by the numerals Ia and Ib, as more particularly shown in Figures 5 and 7 of the drawing. The side edges of the front and rear sections, at one side of the garment, are stitched together for a short distance downwardly from the waist band, as shown at 5. This forms substantially a straight side to the garment. The remaining side edges which, as stated above, taper downwardly, constitute leg openings 'I for the garment. Bindings 8 are provided for the edges of the sections dening these legr openings, said bindings being so stitched to the tapered edges of said sections as to constitute the sole means for securing said tapered edges of the front and rear sections together. These bindings are formed of the same material of which the sections I and 2 are formed, that is, of a material having a stretch inherently provided therein. However, the wales of these bindings extend in planes at right angles to the plane of the wales in the front and rear sections, so that whereas the front and rear sections have a lateral stretch the bindings of the leg openings will stretch only in a longitudinal direction, thus affording a means whereby said leg openings may adjust themselves to the size and shape of the leg of the wearer and prevent binding or pressure against the body. Thus, all discomfort which is normally found in garments of this character will be eliminated.

As stated above, the side edges of the front and back sections above the one leg opening are stitched together, as shown at 6. The other side edges at the opposite side of the garment are only stitched together at the point 9, where the binding or edging 8 of the adjacent leg opening contacts therewith. In other words, the binding for this adjacent leg opening, not only performs the function of forming an elastic edging and a means for connecting the front and rear sections around the leg opening, but it also at this point secures the front and rear sections together. These loose ed-ges at the other side of the garment are adjacent the ends of the waist band, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing. These edges are also covered by a binding Ill, which is stitched to the respective sections I and 2 in the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively.

This binding or edging II) is of the same material as the sections I and 2, and the wales thereof extend in the same direction as the wales in the material forming said sections, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Thus the bindings or edgings I may stretch laterally of the garment. Whenv the waist band is engaged at its ends, the one side edge of the front section is adapted to overlap the adjacent side edge of the rear section, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. When the waist band is disconnected, as shown in Fig. 4, the only overlapping takes place at the lower edges of the bindings or tapes II), at which point these side edges are engaged by the binding 8 of the adjacent leg opening, as aforesaid.

In Fig. 10 I have shown a slight modification of my invention, in which the garment, represented by the numeral II, has the short leg portions I2 formed thereon. The waist band I3, similar to the waist band 3, has the ends thereof free in the front of the garment, instead of at the side, as shown in the previously described form. The front section of the garment is slit or knitted with an elliptical or similar opening I4 therein at the center thereof, the edges of said slit portion being bound by a tape or edging I5, similar to the binding or tape I0 in the previously described form. Thus the distance between the edges of the portions of the garment defining the slit varies progressively in a direction between the waist band ends and the edge of the garment defining the lower edge of said slit, just as is true in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. Fas tening means-are provided at the ends of the Waist band to afford means for adjustment of the waist band to accommodate sizes. Otherwise, the garment is constructed as heretofore described in connection with the preferred form of the invention, except that no binding is necessary at the leg openings, since short leg lengths of material are provided.

It will be understood, however, that this form of slit, as shown in Fig. 10 may be used in the front, rear, side or any other place on the garment and it is further to be understood that the garment with such a form of slit therein may be of the brief type, as shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawing, or same may be formed with long or short leg portions, as desired.

It will now be understood, as seen, for example, in Fig. 10, that when the waist band is adjusted by overlapping the ends thereof, irrespective of whether slit I4 is at the front, rear or side of the garment, there will be no buckling of the material of the garment when the edges of the portions thereof defining said slit are overlapped. This results in a smooth, unbuckled overlapped surface.

In the preferred form of the invention, I have also provided diagonally extending reenforcing strips or tapes I6y which extend from the waist band 3Y adjacent the center thereof, downwardly and outwardly to the leg openings, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. I have also provided a similar set of tapes in the modified form, shown in Fig. 10, which tapes are designated by the numeral I1. These tapes I6 and Il, obviously, afford certain reenforcement for the front of the garment, hold the plies of the front section together and tend to shape the garment to the body of the wearer.

From the foregoing description of the construction of my improved garment, the method of making same and applying the garment to use, will be readily understood, and it will be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive and efcient means for carrying out the various objects of the invention.

While I have particularly described the elements best adapted to perform the various functions set forth, it is apparent that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction, may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. A garment of the class described comprising front and rear sections, the side edges of said sections defining leg openings, an adjustable split waist band secured to the upper edges of said sections, said waist band having its ends adapted to be overlapped in the adjustment of the band, the garment having a vertically extending slit therein the side edges of which are aligned with the ends of said waist band, the distance between the edges of the portions of the garment dening said slit varying progressively in a direction between the waist band ends and the edge of the garment dening the lower edge of said slit, whereby when said Waist band ends are brought in overlapping relation and the edges of the portions of the garment defining said slit are overlapped they have and said leg opening, bindings for the side edges of said slit formed of stretchable material, bindings for said leg openings, the binding for the aforesaid one leg opening also serving to secure the lower ends of the bindings for said slit in overlapped relation and close the lower end of said slit, and means for releasably securing the end portions of said waist band together, whereby portions of the garment sections along opposite sides of the slit are overlapped in hat and smooth face to face engagement with each other and in which position of adjustment the said bound edges of the garment sections diverge upwardly from the said one leg opening.

3. A garment of the class described comprising front and rear sections, portions of the side edges of said sections defining leg openings, a split adjustable waistband secured to the upper edges of said sections and adapted to have its ends overlapped in the adjustment thereof, the side edges of the sections above one leg opening being free from each other to form a slit extending downwardly from the upper edges of said sections and said edges being aligned with the ends of said waistband, bindings for the edges of said slit and the edges of said leg openings, the distance between the edges of the portions of the garment dening said slit varying progressively in a direction between the waistband ends and the edge of the garment defining the lower edge of said slit whereby when said waistband ends are brought in overlapping relation and the edges of the portions of the garment dening said slit are overlapped they have smooth and i'lat face to face engagement with each other forming a smooth surface inhibiting buckling of the material of the garment as overlapped.

PAUL SNYDER. 

